Anxiety keeping me up at night. On Citalopram and scared of FFI/SFI. Please help me
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi I’m a 20 year of female and I’ve barely been sleeping. Everything started about a week and a half ago. I didn’t need sleep the entire night one day (I had already had something similar a week before but that was bc of me drinking a lot of black coffee) I ended up having to go to work the next day. Exhausted and just not in my best state. I went and bought Zzzquil in pill form and in syrup for. For whatever reason I came home and took two pills. An hour later I still couldn’t sleep so I went and drank half a bottle of the syrup. And well yeah it was very stupid bc I thought the more you drank it the faster it would help you pass out. Anyways about two hours later I go and get my mom and I’m having all the symptoms of an overdose. We go to the ER, I check in and they do tests until 5am and end up telling me I’m fine and I feel better so I go home and sleep from 5am to 4pm is and then I wake up and eat and all that and I go and sleep from 12-9 that day. I go to work the next day, with just a mild headache and come home around 10pm (I worked later in the day) and as soon as I hit the mattress I cannot sleep. Anyways that night I don’t sleep because I feel very anxious and it goes like that for 2 days until I can’t take it anymore and go to the doctors and my doctor puts me on 20mg of Citalopram. That morning I take it, after being anxious all night. I go and sleep in my mom’s room for about 5 hours. then I wake up and I feel better and I think surely my anxiety has gone away. That night, I cannot sleep again and I’m freaking out. I have tremors dry mouth and my heart pounds like CRAZY. I measure my blood pressure with a tool my grandma has for measuring her blood pressure and my heart rate is up to 95-125. I keep doing that all night, getting up to measure my blood pressure, wandering around, trying to sleep and then going to drink water and pee bc of the dry mouth. I can’t take it anymore so I got to the doctors again and my doctor prescribes me Trazodone and for the first night I sleep about 7:30 hours and I feel GREAT. Flash forward to last night, after I come home from work late (12pm) I take the Trazodone and I cannot sleep. My body is so tired but my anxiety and my heart don’t let me rest. I fall sleep around 5:30 am and I wake up around 9:30 am. This was today and I’m posting this bc I’m so distraught. I know that it’s anxiety but I keep researching about Fatal Insomnia FFI and SFI and it scares me to death. I’ve asked everyone in my family about their relatives and almost all my grandparents and great grandparents have had many kids and none of them died from that so I know I obviously don’t have the genes or I would’ve known. But then I read about SFI and it scared me so much. I know it’s irrational but I’m so scared. I want to stop feeling this way I’m so distraught and hopeless. Anyone please answer this..I’m sorry it’s so long, I’m new to this site. I found it while googling a bunch of symptoms to see what I had.. my doctor says i don’t have it and that it’s all my anxiety but I’m still so frightened. I’m sorry if this is too long again. Thank you for your time.
For additional information I’ve always suffered from mild insomnia since I was in my teens, that and I had GAD and depression and I’m recovering from ednos. Thank you for your time.
0 likes, 16 replies
lily65668 Guest
Posted
Emily, the fa tal condition you mention has only been diagnosed about 100 times in the entire world since it was discovered in the 1950s. So what are the chances of you having it? Also, insomnia is one of the later symptoms of this disease, occurring after the ability to move and speak has been largely lost. So if you really had it, how on earth would you be able to make such a long post on here? I'm a former neuro nurse btw, so I do know what I'm talking about.
I totally sympathise with your sleep problems, having been a poor sleeper for most of my (very long, healthy) life. But you must stop tormenting yourself with thoughts of an impossibly rare neurological condition which you very clearly don't have anyway.
Well done on conquering your eating disorder! It sounds as if you've had professional help in doing this, but you must have put in a lot of work yourself. What you need to do now is continue to work with the professionals to overcome your anxiety.
christine66659 lily65668
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avanti53545 christine66659
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jeniffer24273 lily65668
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lily65668 christine66659
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Me too Christine! When I was young (when the dinosaurs walked the earth) there was only the public library to look things up. This involved a lot of time and effort, and there wasn't much to be found. These days people can scare themselves silly in just a few minutes of searching. The internet is a wonderful thing, and I'd be lost without it... but it's a double-edged sword.
lily65668 jeniffer24273
Posted
Hi Jeniffer,
You need help for your anxiety, not S F I, which you can't possibly have.
Anxiety does terrible things to us, especially stopping us from sleeping, and you have to address this with your medical adviser.
Incidentally, I've only just read the heading of your initial post, and I see you're on citalopram. You do know, don't you, that insomnia can be a side-effect of this drug? That's why it's essential that you talk about your insomnia with the doctor who prescribed the drug.
You should not however stop taking it. Citalopram, like all antidepressants, should only be tapered under medical supervision.
jeniffer24273 lily65668
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lily65668 jeniffer24273
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You really do need to discuss all this with your doctor. Forums like this one can provide support but not practical help.
jeniffer24273 lily65668
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lily65668 jeniffer24273
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So sorry Jeniffer - you're right. I didn't read carefully enough. I'm afraid I'm getting a bit past my sell-by date these days!
jeniffer24273 lily65668
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lily65668 jeniffer24273
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Hi Jeniffer,
You can send a private message to anyone on this site by clicking on the little envelope icon next to their name on one of their posts. Messages go via the site, not directly to the person's email address.
Gareth51625 Guest
Posted
I don't think you need to worry about this extremely rare condition. Put it this way across the world only a couple of people per year get this condition, so you have more chance of winning the lotto hundreds of times over than getting that condition. The familial form which runs in families is only slightly more prevelant. You seem to have sleep anxiety and this is making your mind race and preventing your brain from relaxing.
andybb Guest
Posted
Emily,
I too thought I had FFI and then I discovered SFI and after I ruled out FFI I was convinced I had SFI. Months passed and I noticed that SFI was a self-diagnosis and I did not succumb to it. It is your GAD and your depression talking. You will get better. Let go of the pills, eat healthy, do mild exercise and try to rewire your brain. This is where you have to do most of the work. I recommend CBT.
I am doing CBT now and it helps. One more thing and please use these words every time you can't sleep:
YOU WILL NOT DIE FROM INSOMNIA. IT IS THE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION TALKING. YOU WILL GET BETTER, YOU JUST NEED TO FALL A LOT OF TIMES TO LEARN HOW TO GET UP ONCE AND FOR ALL!
This is what I tell myself each and every time I can't fall asleep. Then I distract myself and before I know it, I fall asleep. Try not to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.
Live long and prosper!
lily65668 andybb
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christine66659 andybb
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